Tokyo-based company, Ale, claims it can produce shooting stars on demand - and is preparing its first artificial meteor shower over Hiroshima in 2019.

It will use a purpose-built satellite to create the display of shooting stars any time and in any colour.

Each one will be visible for 62 miles (100km) in all directions, the company says.

'Pellets' will be released from the satellite and burst into flames as they reach the Earth's atmosphere - and could last for up to ten seconds each.

But it won't come cheap, with the cost of just one shooting star starting at one million yen ($8,000, £5,000).

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The company claims to be able to produce shooting stars on demand - and is preparing its first artificial meteor shower over Hiroshima in 2019 (pictured, artist's impression)

KNOW YOUR SPACE ROCKS

An asteroid is a large chunk of rock left over from collisions or the early solar system. Most are located between Mars and Jupiter in the Main Belt.

A comet is a rock covered in ice, methane and other compounds. Their orbits take them much further out of the solar system.

A meteor is what we call a flash of light in the atmosphere when debris burns up.

This debris itself is known as a meteoroid. Most are so small they are vapourised in the atmosphere.

If any of this meteoroid makes it to Earth, it is called a meteorite.

Meteors, meteoroids and meteorites normally originate from asteroids and comets.

For example, if Earth passes through the tail of a comet, much of the debris burns up in the atmosphere, forming a meteor shower.

The innovation is being developed by Japanese start-up company Ale, led by Dr Lena Okajima.

At certain times the satellite will release its specially designed contents - dozens of balls - which will burn up in the atmosphere, each creating a bright glow akin to a shooting star.

The tiny pea-sized balls have a secret chemical formula that causes them to glow brightly from the friction of re-entry, at speeds of up to five miles (8km) a second.

The idea - which was first announced in 2015 - is to launch a small satellite about the size of a backpack into Earth’s atmosphere.

Now, the company has announced their Shooting Star Challenge where they will first test this satellite and attempt to produce the first artificial meteor shower over the Setouchi area in the Hiroshima Prefecture.

The plan is to send the satellite holding 300 to 400 of these pellets into orbit 500 kilometres (310 miles) above Australia, writes Rocket News.

From there they would take around 15 minutes before they started to burn above Setouchi.

The ingredients in the pellets can be altered to change the colour of each bright streak, which means that a multi-coloured flotilla of shooting stars could be created.

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As the pellets are artificial they could also burn more brightly and for longer than natural meteors. Each craft would spend around one year in orbit.

Dr Okajima wants her artificial display to be ready for the 2020 Olympics.

‘It is artificial but I want to make really beautiful ones that can impress viewers,’ Dr Okajima said.

Each ‘star’ will completely disintegrate before they get anywhere near the ground.

Dr Okajima also said that they could be ‘coupled with events on the ground’ to provide a spectacle for observers, such as coinciding with a party.

At certain times the satellite will release its specially designed contents - dozens of balls - which will burn up in the atmosphere, each creating a bright glow akin to a shooting star (pictured)

Now, the company has announced their Shooting Star Challenge where they will first test this satellite (pictured)

The company is attempting to produce the first artificial meteor shower over the Setouchi area in the Hiroshima Prefecture

‘Making the sky a screen is this project's biggest attraction as entertainment,’ she said. ‘It's a space display.’

Tests carried out with Nihon University in Tokyo showed that the space pellets would burn brightly enough to be seen even over polluted metropolitan skies.

The development and launch of one of the micro satellites is expected to cost one billion yen ($8 million, £5 million).

The small satellite will be a 20-inch (50cm) cube and will orbit Earth at an altitude of 250 to 310 miles (400 to 500km).

It will be in a polar orbit on a north-south heading, but it has not been known what rocket will be used to get it into this orbit.

Shown is Dr Lena Okajima (left), CEO of Ale with the pink balls. The tiny pea-sized balls have a secret chemical formula that causes them to glow brightly from the friction of re-entry, at speeds of up to five miles (8km) a second

The idea is to launch a small satellite about the size of a backpack (seen on the screen) into Earth’s atmosphere. 'It is artificial but I want to make really beautiful ones that can impress viewers,’ Dr Okajima said

Most rocket launches are equatorial - launching in the direction of Earth’s rotation - and getting a satellite into polar orbit, especially at this height, is not easy.

The project isn’t just for fun, though; there is also a scientific aspect to it.

Analysis of the light could reveal the temperature and density of the atmosphere, and its movements, and may even reveal clues about environmental changes.

And comparing their characteristics with ‘natural’ shooting stars could reveal the composition of meteors.

‘We believe there are people who would be ready to put up money for supporting “a world first” event that is also meaningful scientifically,’ Dr Okajima said.

The space pellets will last for a few seconds before they completely disintegrate. The satellite itself will burn up in the atmosphere with no danger to the ground after a couple of months. Many spacecraft have burned up in the atmosphere before, such as the Hayabusa spacecraft in 2010, pictured here